NCR Aloha POS

Speeds up trainee process during onboarding.

Able to add and delete buttons for quick updates.

Export payroll hours into ADP seamlessly.

Sometimes you need tech support to help add or delete tabs.

The programs are always growing and updating so sometimes you need assistance.

The tech support isn't always available or takes time for them to respond.

User friendly--was easy to train new employees on the system.

Reliable--rarely had issues or went down.

Great reporting on sales numbers

Clunky hardware

We used a deposit item to refund credit cards and you could issue the refund on any card which was helpful.

It was easy to create items and buttons for the POS.

It took a long time to refresh the POS.

We had a lot of issues with it going offline.

The setup and ease of use is a huge plus to me. It is very clearly organized, supports high volume use, and gives us a lot of options as servers, to keep track of our schedules, sales, tips received, and tips paid out.

One cool function that I like is the recipes function. We had ours set up to where if you held down the button of the item you are questioning, for example, if I needed to look up the liquors in the long island iced tea, then it would display the recipe that I am looking for. Saves a LOT of time when you are busy or need an answer quick for a customer. This IS a function that has to be set up with the initial setup, from the back end, which I wasn't a part of but it was great having it available to us for food and drink menu items.

Honestly, I have yet to have an issue with any of the functions of Aloha. The only thing that was a little complex was the end-of-day functions, (as we were a 24-hr casino) as if there were any open items, it would just auto-close these and that could get a little troublesome if I was behind in closing out checks. But I am not entirely sure if that was related to how our company itself was set up to run, not the actual Software.

Customizability for order placement. With today's clientele, they tend to pick things apart to make it more familiar or are averse to certain ingredients in dishes. Aloha allows for simple and clear modifications, to where the ingredients of the entire dish can be listed out and edited right there on the screen.

Course timing and ordering. In finer dining establishments, timing is a priority, and Aloha's coursing system works very well, from their item "Hold" actions, as well as configuring the orders to not fire upon input, only until the "Order" prompt is issued. This allows for entire meals to be input at the beginning and fired for the kitchen course by course to allow for perfect timing.

Splitting checks is another staple with today's clientele. Aloha's system optimizes this system by designating seat numbers that are effective in meal to table delivery, but also in getting a head start in organizing potential split checks. By utilizing the seat number system in the POS for proper communication for table delivery, the system has already broken down the item and total check by seat, ready to be divided up if necessary. Just a few prompts and you'll have a table of ten split ten ways with ease, as well as the option for multiple checks to split the cost of individual items in case a large party all wanted to share an appetizer. These requests tend to bog down the service and slow down the process, but Aloha has streamlined the entire process resulting in minimal interruption.

Aloha does has a very comprehensive and intuitive approach to restaurant service operations, but doubles as a timekeeping system for payroll as well. Aloha could benefit from increased functionality from an HR perspective, considering it already utilizes a clock in, clock out, and break functions. Increased employee facing functionality, scheduling, and personalization, with an option for weekly averages, reports, and summaries of total labor and income tracking, and built-in scheduling system would truly make this an all in one POS masterpiece.

Speaking of personalization, customization for each server could allow for increased efficiency. The system itself already thrives, but by allowing some tweaking from the user for their own POS screen could result in even better communication and speed of service, allowing the service to create a system that best fits their style and technique.

Time Clock

Server/Bartender Check Outs

Ease of use

Clunky

Outdated

Reporting functionality is limited.

Extremely user-friendly. The layout and simplicity of the program made for fast, accurate transactions. This was an easy system to learn for all of our users and made training a much more streamlined process.

Versatility - even in the largest of transactions, my options for payment were wide-ranging (from charging to house accounts to accepting check, cash, or card). My ability to update price keys and users was extremely helpful where other systems have proven to be difficult to navigate.

Great support. As we transitioned to newer versions of Aloha, we always had a great line of communication with customer support, and fast, friendly service.

Customizing receipt settings, such as messages to be printed on receipts, seemed to be one feature that was lacking throughout the time that I used Aloha.

A more detailed error message that does not simply provide a code, but also potential troubleshooting tips or a general category under which the error falls.

The Aloha server was frequently down at a couple of our locations for the entirety of my tenure. The problems would always be resolved quickly, but not without phone calls to our support team, or the Aloha support line.

It is very user-friendly.

I do not have to deploy anything. All the changes I make go out with the end of day refresh from the cloud.

Every detail from menu items, modifiers, hierarchies, promo, daily specials and etc., are easy to set up and maintain.

Aloha Kitchen doesn't have a backup if one of the KDS controllers goes down. It would be nice if it automatically sent orders to the next screen if a controller stops working.

It would be nice to be able to version off a particular submenu screen to multiple hierarchies.

Auto spooldown does not work, at least for us, and it somehting that needs to be addressed.